Topic: The Nintendo Switch Thread

@Giancarlothomaz

You don't release the successor to a platform that sold 21 million consoles the previous year. That would be the definition of stupidity.

"Nintendo don't usually support consoles for a long time." The Wii launched in '06 and wasn't discontinued until '13. And the Switch has been more successful than the Wii so....

@Magician well Nintendo is notorious for making bad bussines decisions, what if the reason we have so few Switch titles for Switch this year, is not only because of Coronavirus but to also prepare the launch games for Switch sucessor, everytime a sucessor of a previous console of a Nintendo is on the horizon, the input of Nintendo for that console before it sucessor release, drop dramatically, is not obvious to everyone that Nintendo is already developing the launch games for Switch sucessor? with Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild 2 e Bayonetta 3 be a cross-generation game.

I don't know why people are talking about this rumored "Switch 2" as a successor to the original.

It's probably just going to be a more powerful mid-cycle refresh that addresses the power gap between it and the PS5/Series X. They're not releasing a flat out new console for years. This new Switch will probably just beef up the hardware to tackle more demanding games a la the New 3DS, Xbox One X or PS4 Pro.

The successor to the Switch is going to be a new Nintendo console. The GameCube succeeded the N64, the SNES succeeded the NES and the 3DS succeeded the DS. Nintendo has literally never positioned a second variant of an existing console as just "the new console". All future Switch games will probably be designed to work on both but will have clear advantages when played on the more powerful hardware should this rumor even be true.

@TheFrenchiestFry

All the Switch 4k rumors have folks frothing at the mouth.The assumption is that it would "have to be" a successor to the current Switch to output 4k when that isn't the case at all.

Nintendo HDS
Nintendo SanDWitch 🤣

@Giancarlothomaz

No doubt Nintendo has made some bad business decisions in the past. Such as Nintendo opting to go with Phillips instead of Sony to build a CD add-on for the SNES. The PlayStation brand probably wouldn't exist if Nintendo had made the right move.

But to introduce a new platform when the Switch is breaking hardware sales records?

Pure insanity.

@BruceCM 3 more years for Switch? Nintendo have to launch the Switch sucessor before that, Switch is already dated with the anouncemt of Xbox Series S that is 4K native and have the same price of Switch, if Nintendo don't do anything ports and games of third party will not come to Switch, can Metroid Prime 4 e Bayonetta 3 really handle on Switch, both this games need urgently to be released in the Switch sucessor, for they true potencial to be shown, why did you think Retro Studios hired so many worthwile people to work on Metroid Prime 4?this people would problaby refuse to work in the development of Metroid Prime 4, if Metroid Prime 4 is not actualy be developed to be released in the Switch sucessor.

@TheFrenchiestFry 4K AI Upscaling would definitely make this successor the best mid-gen refresh we've gotten in terms of 'power' leap, even blowing the Xbox One X out of the water. And without actually increasing the raw power and price the way that one did. It'd be a very Nintendo move though, so I am definitely inclined to believe this rumor.

And if it's true? I'm buying it, guaranteed.

Using successor and mid-gen refresh in the same sentence? Those are two very different descriptors. PS3 to PS4 = successor. PS4 to PS4 Pro = mid-gen refresh. Can we at least try to keep the nomenclature succinct?

Umm, yeah. No. They're really not. They've had 30-50% marketshare in a 2-4 player market for a good 25 years and before that a good 70% for a solid decade. You might not like everything they do but you can't deny the fact that, overall, they've been pretty savvy.

If there's anything dumb about Nintendo business wise it's that they're all in on one product. Particularly now that they, rightly, streamlined their production by merging their home console and portable branches. They're very boom and bust in 5-10 year cycles. But that's also kinda the nature of the business they're in....

@Giancarlothomaz I mean the Switch wasn't immediately released in 2014 or late 2013 to compete with the PS4/Xbox One or anything of that sort. The Switch didn't come out until those consoles were years old.

Same with the Wii. It came out roughly around the same time as the PS3 in late 2006, but it was nowhere near as powerful. In fact it was barely more powerful than the GameCube and they never released a major hardware refresh for it despite the fact it was clearly the most disadvantaged graphics wise out of the three consoles. It was just successful enough on its own that they were confident they didn't have to overhaul anything tech-wise about it.

I don't know why you'd think they'd suddenly have to change tune with the Switch despite the fact it's experiencing similar success. The Switch may be one of the big three consoles but the harsh reality is not many people go to it for multiplatform AAA games in the first place unless they only own a Switch and it's their only option as a result. A major hardware refresh to address the power gap between it and next gen is going to appeal to a good chunk of people, but not nearly as many as some think.

Did you buy your Switch primarily for non-Nintendo games, @Giancarlothomaz ....? I'm just going primarily by what Nintendo have said officially, since beyond that none of us has any real info It was about when the Switch had been out for 3 years they said it wasn't yet at the halfway point. Then, when asked about the 'Pro', they specifically said 'no plans THIS year' (I added emphasis)
To me, that's almost as good as announcing it for next year! That at least could be quite an upgrade. Then, assuming that happens, it's possible (even highly likely) that it'd have games that wouldn't run on existing models

@BruceCM Buying a Nintendo console for non-Nintendo games in 2020 is like buying a PC for games developed by Valve in 2020.

That's not really what makes those platforms unique.

@skywake To be fair since they combined their portable and home branches, they've also significantly expanded their product range into other markets entirely to compensate. Far more merchandise, Theme Parks, standalone systems (from NES Mini to Mario G&W), a hotel (well I think they technically are renting it to the people running the hotel but), etc, on top of aiming to be serious in additional major markets (China, Brazil) and minor ones (Israel).

I'd wager they're actually more healthily distributed now than before. At least all their revenue isn't tied up in consumer electronics now.

@link3710 Successor and mid-gen refresh are different things. They can't be used in the same sentence.

The PS4 Pro is a mid-gen refresh

The PS5 is a successor.

I'm talking about how a new Switch would be a mid gen refresh and how a new Nintendo console entirely would be a true successor. I'm definitely not expecting them to go the 4K route. If anything that's super un-Nintendo. Maybe just a more consistent 1080p in docked mode across all games or possibly 1440p. 4K is a pipe dream for the Switch.

Yeah, that was the point, @TheFrenchiestFry .... Anyway, Switch 'Pro', or whatever they'll call it, is highly likely next year but Switch 2 or whatever they'll call that is still about 3 years away

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-09/nintendo-s...

@TheFrenchiestFry Why is it a pipe dream? I'm not talking about a native 4k (that would be a pipe dream), but technology exists to allow them to output a low res image + a set of vectors that are movement data of the 3D models, which will create a very nice looking (albeit not quite native) 4k image, without any additional CPU/GPU strain, since it's a dedicated chip of it's own.

This technology is built by NVidia, for the Shield, a system that shares significant architecture with the Switch. Also, it's not exactly expensive.

So isn't it only logical to assume Nintendo would at least investigate using it?

@BruceCM I doubt the successor will have anything to do with the Switch. They literally tried that with Wii U and look what that got them.

The successor console will probably have its own distinct branding and might not even be a hybrid since Nintendo loves to experiment with new playing techniques each time. I'd personally love for them just to make a straight up home console again that was just decently powerful and could keep up with what next-gen is seemingly demanding.

could Switch reach 100 milions consoles sold until the first half of 2021?Nintendo is very confident to think Switch could sell 100 milions consoles sold until the first half of 2021, even with the launch of PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.